Promenade
by generalquistis
Summary: Conrad and an evening recalling the unsaid.


Promenade

oOoOo

_The truth stays on for nothing._

It was unusually cold in the castle and Conrad could not have felt the coldness worsening until he reached the ballroom while making his rounds late one evening when he could not sleep and just decided to roam around and inspect the whole area for intruders. Besides, walking is good therapy if you want to release some tension which you cannot really easily let out.

The ballroom was dark and empty and there were still a few decorations up on the posts and the ceilings from that night's party planned by his mother for the Demon King, Yuuri. The party concluded 3 hours ago and everyone had gone home or had returned to their rooms to retire for the night.

As for Conrad, he felt much more drawn to the ballroom when it was that dark and empty. Memories flooded him, making him very reminiscent of the past—his past.

But not only his past…

He stepped further inside and he continued to walk until he reached the center of the ballroom with a tender look in his eyes. Strangely enough, there was a sudden cold breeze that blew softly against his face and went past him. He turned his head to his side, as if he had seen the invisible wind and decided to follow it with his gaze. And he moved to completely turn to face it. He then smiled lightly as he reached out a hand to an unknown and unseen presence standing before him…but only in his memories.

"_Dance with me, Conrad._"

He heard her. Her voice was in the wind; but it burns to the touch. He could even hear its gentle sound sighing against his ear.

He smiled as his hand moved to hold the emptiness in front of him.

And then his smile slowly faded as the look on his eyes mellowed down further as if affected by sudden severe disappointment and sadness.

"I…" he struggled to say. But he felt as if silence had murdered his senses for a moment when he felt the coldness of the room getting to him. Something in him had been wounded for so long and he could not pacify the pain.

The wind died down. The coldness left the room. And Conrad was alone once more.

Still, his hand remained, suspended in midair as if still clasping her hand. He could still feel her there as if she was alive again…

And he danced. But he is alone. He knew that if anyone saw him, he would get embarrassed. But at that point, he did not care.

Memories continued to flood him; memories from way back.

The worst one was her death; the second worst was the fact that he failed to speak; yet the truth stayed on for nothing. He just wished that she was still there to look at him for one last time so that he could finally heal.

But it ended—the dance, that is.

And he just stood there, staring into empty space and while taking time to inhale the warm air that suddenly filled the atmosphere of the empty ballroom.

"_Conrad_."

He turned around upon hearing that beautiful voice once more, and the lights were suddenly on while a live orchestra played his favorite waltz… _their_ favorite waltz. He gaped at her in awe. "Julia," he said softly.

There was a crowd of people around them but they seemed to be unaware of their presence and were just dancing with their own partners. He did not bother to try to recognize any of the people dancing around them; he just continued to stare at her.

"It ends tonight," he heard her say as she took his hand and began to dance the waltz with him.

Conrad just kept silent, refusing to speak, still, because he felt like all he could do was to stare at her, hold her and dance with her. He could feel the eyes of random people around them watching them closely and he began to feel nervous for someone might scrutinize them for waltzing together while she should be waltzing with another man that is not him… and then there's the fear that she will be taken away from him again.

And the music gradually died down, the crowd ceased and faded slowly, the lights began to flicker until they slowly dimmed and died at the same time with the music; but Conrad and Julia were still dancing.

She was smiling at him lovingly, the smile he had missed for a very long time that she was away. "What is it that you wanted to tell me, Conrad?" he heard her inquire of him.

His silence was endless, he could feel it. "Julia, I…" he tried to say.

And he saw her eyes close and she stopped moving. She fell against him but slowly slipped down to the floor. Conrad caught her in his arms and stared at her with a worried look on his face. "Julia," he called out her name as if it was the most precious thing he could ever speak of.

She was sleeping.

Sighing in relief, Conrad slowly laid her sleeping form onto the floor of the center of the ballroom where they had been waltzing all along—the place that never fails to fill his head with memories of being with her.

He watched her sleeping form with admiration in his eyes as he laid himself beside her, facing her and holding her hand gently. And he spoke, "I love you." As he closed his eyes.

Morning broke and Conrad opened his eyes. He is still in the ballroom but with no one beside him anymore. Instead, he found himself lying on the cold hard marble floor at the center of the empty ballroom. He could feel the tender warmth of the morning sun tingling lightly on his face as it emanated from the marble floor. Carefully, he sat up and stared at the window with a dazed look on his face.

Then he heard footsteps coming from the doorway. "There you are, Conrad! What are you doing here?"

He turned around and got up, forcing a kind smile at Yuuri. "Good morning, your majesty," he greeted.

Yuuri stared strangely at him. "You didn't happen to sleep here, did you?" he asked suspiciously, eyeing the disheveled look Conrad has.

Conrad just smiled calmly. "Anyway, you were looking for me, sire?" he asked, not really wanting to answer the question.

Yuuri smiled cheerfully, "I was just wondering if you'd like to run with me outside," he told him.

Conrad nodded. "Yes, your majesty. I'd love to accompany you." He said.

_The best lies go on forever…_

oOoOo

-End-

Author's Note: That's a one-shot! Wrote it for 45 minutes. Inspired by a song with the same title--some lines were even extracted from the song itself. So there. My first attempt for a Kyou Kara Maou fic. And it's a ConradxJulia! Be nice, please. As usual, constructive criticism is welcome. Flames aren't.


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